Thought experiment: If geopolitics didn't exist, and cost of travel too wasn't a problem - Then where would you go in the world, and what plants and/or trees would you bring back with you to grow? Further refinements: Suppose we also didn't have any limits of space. And could have different areas to accommodate all types of climates. So what would you bring back with you? There is no limit, so no rules saying that you can have only one.
Interesting question and by far most plants on my list of if only …. First on the list …. I would head for Brazil for :Worley’s procera known as the Blue Amaryllis or "Empress of Brazil," is a rare, critically endangered bulbous plant native to steep granite cliffs in Brazil. Just travel the Amazon as I have read about the travels of many horticulturists travels finding many new plants found in that area since WWII.
That's really a beauty. Well worth traveling to Brazil for! I myself too have a long list. But I'll start off with one tree I very much desire to preserve. Underneath which scientific history was made. I'm talking about the legendary Apple Tree, underneath which Sir Isaac Newton had his famous Eureka moment! That very same tree is still alive and taken very good care of. So I would love to have a clone of it, (via plant tissue culture) - So that multiple replicas of this scientifically historic tree exist elsewhere too. Agree with me or not, but half the credit for everything Sir Isaac Newton did regarding gravity - Should go to this tree - The very fact that this tree is only mentioned as a footnote, is actually plant discrimination!
Ok that is an important fact find for the theory of gravity. We all grow up learning about the gravity legend Newton. The leaf and the apple experiment, did the apple really fall on newton’s head. The aerodynamics of the apple compared to the leaf defines the effects of relativity and all the coordinates that are defined to combine the results ? This next plant on my list is a curiosity of sorts… kind of funky but a rare occasion of a bloom that I have read about and never seen . Although there are many horticultural gardens and greenhouses across the US that offers this plants performance thru the eyes of a slow motion camera exposing the actual growing process of the florescence. I would like to see one in its natural native habitat. How does it form and from what are the beginnings of the process for creating the huge corm. Moss, seeds, dung , bird , combo of fungus and animal droppings in the region? I see in my minds eye where I imagine a beautiful rain forest to travel thru the rain forests of Indonesia to see this plant in real time. A opportunity to see the huge inflorescence of the titan arum a huge stinky plant which is in the family Araceae. It has a large unbranched inflorescence, a tall single leaf branched like a tree from a huge corm from which the plant produces only an inflorescence. From Google. The Titan Arum's unique traits include being the world's largest unbranched flower structure, growing to over 10 feet tall, blooming rarely (every few years) for only a day or two, and emitting a powerful stench of rotting flesh to attract pollinators, all powered by the world's largest underground corm. It's known as the "corpse flower" due to this smell, which, combined with its crimson color, mimics decaying meat to lure flies and beetles for pollination, a spectacle drawing huge crowds to botanical gardens.
Did the apple really fall on Newton's head? Legend seems to suggest that it did. But we can't know for sure, as Sir Isaac isn't around anymore. Otherwise in today's world it would have been easy to corner him on the Oprah Winfrey show, where he would break down on live camera, cry with tears, and confess that it was all a lie. After which he would get hugs and be forgiven, as whatever he did was only because he wanted science to be popular. Obviously, this scenario isn't happening, as like I already said, Sir Isaac isn't around anymore. So I'm not going to even mention the far more colorful Jerry Springer show scenario I imagined... But the tree is still around, so we can try asking it! However after around three and a half centuries of not given much credit, I doubt if the tree will be in any mood to have a conversation about it with us. Titan Arun is indeed a most unique plant to have in one's collection! Jokes aside, why don't people like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk (plus other highly influential individuals) make a climate controlled botanical garden of their own? They certainly have the resources - It would function like a Noah's Ark for plants and trees, (to save some varieties before they go extinct) - What good is all their wealth, if they can't do anything for nature??? Just thinking out aloud here.
lady's slipper. We had them growing on top of a huge glacial bolder, 40' or more wide and tall, that was behind our house. I miss seeing them bloom in summer.
Annie Absolutely adore trilliums. The glacier bolder in New England the largest in North America is known to be one of the largest in the world. And this glacier was literally near your home. Amazing… From google… Trilliums are indeed native, spring-blooming perennials in Oregon, thriving in the moist, shaded forests of the Pacific Northwest. Common species include the white Trillium ovatum (Western trillium) and Trillium albidum (giant white wakerobin), which often turn pinkish with age. These, along with Trillium rivale and Trillium kurabayashii, are part of the state's natural flora. Of course you all know by now that I live next to an old growth forest which leaves a lot of native flowers in spring for the forest animals to enjoy . However the deer take license every spring to enjoy the flowers as a salad bar delight by wondering thru my garden. Every collection I have managed to maintain over the years has been decimated by the ground squirrels and deer. Back to the initial topic… Where in the world would I like to go to see a plant or tree and get any plant? The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) has been deemed the oldest tree in existence. This tree is in the state of California just a hop, skip and a jump from my home. This Bristlecone pine tree is in a small group of trees that reach an age believed by many scientists to be far greater than that of any other living organism known to man -- up to nearly 5,000 years old. Bristlecone pines are a small group of trees that reach an age believed by many scientists to be far greater than that of any other living organism known to man -- up to nearly 5,000 years old. Nick named Methuselah. The Inyo National Forest is home to many bristlecone pines, thought to be the oldest living organisms on Earth. At 10,000+ feet, the tree is protected from wildfires and human intrusion, which helps it live for thousands of years. The only way to see this tree is to hike thru rugged terrain of the mountains where there is literally no trail or guide to take visitors . Of course to address S-H question why don’t the richest men like Jeff Bezos create climate controlled living spaces for plants. Actually Bezos has designed the Amazon home office into a giant SPHERE with offices and rivers waterfalls , with plants trees , shrubs from around the world , located in the state of Washington . https://www.seattlespheres.com/the-spheres-weekend-public-visits
I don't know how it would be possible, but if it was - I'd like the same Water Hemlock they gave to Socrates. Preserve it forever, as another plant in the turning points of history. As one modern day philosopher said: That it was not poison, which Socrates was made to drink. Or else Socrates would have died - Instead what he was given, was actually the elixir of immortality...
